Firearms used in movies (or TV, theatre, or similar areas of the entertainment industry) represent several concerns, chief among them being safety, legal, and cost. In order to obtain the ultimate in realism as required by modern movies, real guns modified to fire blanks are used, which in a number of cases has resulted in death (i.e. Brandon Lee, Jon-Erik Hexum, etc.) and injury (i.e. Al Pacino burning his hand on a hot gun barrel during the filming of Scarface, etc.).
Blanks comprise an explosive such as gunpowder, which can be harmless from as close as three feet away, but can have a dangerous or even deadly impact up close. While the powder from blanks disperses quickly, if a firearm is pressed against an object, even the blank will cause devastating damage similar to if an actual bullet was used. Firing the wrong type of blank can also cause serious injury.
In addition to the physical dangers, using real guns and blanks on a movie set comes with a number of legal issues. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) regulates every aspect of firearm use. These regulations become even more onerous with the use of “killing weapons” such as machine guns and the like. Unfortunately, these types of “killing weapons” are often very desirable for movie makers because of their fantasy aspect. Among other things, BATF limits who on the set can legally interact with guns, as well as the burden to ensure that the regulatory paperwork is fully correct.
There are also a number of cost issues associated with using real guns in movies. To begin with, there is the ongoing cost of “consumables” (i.e. blanks, squibs, etc.). Gun use on movie sets also often results in higher insurance rates. In addition, the potential for lawsuits from misuse of guns is increased. The use of real guns in movies requires additional qualified personnel on the payroll (i.e. gun wrangler, weapons handler, etc.), which increases costs. Real guns require enhanced security for storage and transportation, which all increase costs and cut from the bottom line.
In addition to the already mentioned problems, there are a number of practical issues with the use of real guns on movie sets. Blanks do not always fire properly and multiple “takes” due to reduced reliability from fractional-load blanks (i.e. misfires, jams, partial or non-operation of slide/bolt, etc.) are inevitable. When movies are being filmed on location, depending on the location of the set, there often exist noise regulations that restrict when filming scenes involving the use of guns and blanks may occur.
Accordingly, a replacement for the use of real guns on the sets of movies, film, theater and other endeavors is needed.